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Sunday September 5th 2010

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Common Good

The common good is the total of all those conditions of social living – economic, political, sociological and cultural – which make it possible for women and men readily and fully to achieve the perfection of their humanity. Individual rights are always experienced within the context of promotion of the common good.

In Catholic social thought, the common good is not simply the sum of individual goods. It is not, as in utilitarian ethics, the sum of the good of the greatest number of people. That approach presumes that some people will, realistically, be left out or excluded from the benefits of social advance – and accepts that fact. Catholic social thought emphasizes and insists upon the participation of each and every person in the common good. It stands in challenging contrast to many contemporary cultures’ heightened individualism.

Catholic social thought’s vision of promoting the common good involves working on developing in society all those conditions of social living through with each and every person can be enabled to more fully achieve their authentic human development.

At the national level, promoting community and the common good requires creating employment for all, caring for the less privileged, and providing for the future. At the global level, it increasingly requires analogous interventions on behalf of the whole human family. (Centesimus Annus, #52.1) ----Adapted from Education for Justice

Engaging as Citizen and Disciple-Voting the Global Common Good by Abioseh Davis

The November elections are just around the corner and candidates and causes continue to vie for our attention and our vote... Center Focus, Publication from The Center of Concern. http://www.coc.org/taxonomy/term/6

Resources to assist in participate actively and in promoting the common good:

* Center of Concern http://www.coc.org/election2008

* Vote for the Common Good http://www.votethecommongood.com/

* Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good http://www.catholicsinalliance.org/

* Faithful Citizenship http://www.faithfulcitizenship.org/church/statements

* Pax Christi http://www.paxchristiusa.org/

* Leadership Conference of Women Religious http://www.lcwr.org/lcwrsocialjustice/issues.htm

Prayer

“As citizens of the State, [the lay faithful] are called to take part in public life in a personal capacity. So they cannot relinquish their participation ‘in the many different economic, social, legislative, administrative and cultural areas, which are intended to promote organically and institutionally the common good.’ The mission of the lay faithful is therefore to configure social life correctly. . .”
- Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est (God is Love), #29

--Adapted from Education for Justice

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